Isaac Rabi, winner of the 1944 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, was asked what inspired him to become a…
This past week, Daf Yomi began learning masechet Moed Katan, “the little holiday.” This signals that our two years’ study of seder Moed, the second…
The commitment to learn Daf Yomi is a remarkable one. It is the only study project I know that takes seven and half years to complete (2,711 days, to…
It is to be expected that, in a chapter dealing with the laws of mourning, a discussion of the philosophical implications of death will follow. Such…
No idea is stressed more in the Torah than that of being kind to strangers, “because we were strangers in the land of Egypt”. This notion…
As previously discussed, both mourning and Chol Hamoed share a prohibition of shaving. Yet the reasons for such are very different; the…
One of the greatest and the most tragic figure of Talmudic literature is Rav Eliezer ben Hurcanus, known simply as Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol, Rabbi…
The primary way we can tell which commandments are more important than others is by the punishment recorded in the Torah for various offences[1].…
The Gemara (Megillah 5b) relates that Rebbe wanted to abolish Tisha B'Av. Interestingly, no reason is given for this idea of Rebbe's[1]. And…
As we discussed in our last post, mourning and Yom Tov[1] are polar opposites, and mourning has no place on these days of joy. Such is…
Halacha reflects not only legal truths, but moral, psychological, and philosophical (and other) truths, as well. The wide observance of the laws…
For better or worse most people pay little attention to the proof texts brought to support various Talmudic views and positions, focusing on the…
One of the fascinating features of the Talmud is how it seamlessly moves from topic to topic. The opening Mishnah of Moed Katan teaches that amongst…
Moed Katan has as its focus two contradictory themes: the laws of Chol Hamoed and of aveilut, mourning. Chol Hamoed is a time when we are obligated…